Enchantment
Enchantment (奇術 Kijutsu) is the tribal martial art of the Majin tribe; a band of nomadic desert dwellers who live on Sahara Island. It is well known among the island for its dance-like movements and exotic aura about it, as well as legends of Enchantment users being capable of conjuring magic through their fighting. It was originally created and developed within the Majin tribe out of necessity, in order to drive off highwaymen and wild predatory animals that would otherwise be a constant nuisance and danger to a nomadic desert tribe. However, out of the growing conflict and mutual animosity between the Majin and the people of the Sahara kingdom, the fighting style has become more militaristic over time, with it leaning more towards defending the tribe against the Saharans, as opposed to natural self-defense. The fighting style itself is rather complex, yet simple at the same time, and remains mostly exclusive to members of the Majin tribe, especially those of the warrior castes. As previously noted, the modern form of Enchantment as it is today takes its origins from belly dancing, as the Majin felt it necessary to hide their fighting style from the Saharans, by masking it as simple dancing and entertainment. While in reality, the belly dancing helped to improve weak points in the original fighting style as well. The fundamentals themselves revolve around acrobatic and agile footwork, mixed with clever use of the hands and posturing of the body for maximum manueverability; making the style similiar in appearance to capoeira and Black Leg Style. For offense, and given the dance-like appearance of Enchantment, users focus heavily on their legs and feet when attacking opponents, thus also making the style appear similiar to taekwondo. Additionally, the role of the user's arms and hands is also meant for blocking and parrying strikes, leaving the feet free to counter attack; where the rest of the body, particularly the torso and abdomen, are to be rocked rhythmically in the same fashion as that of belly dancing, putting a large focus on the user's hip, ribcage and shoulder movements to guarantee total effeciency. This also ensures that the opponent will not only be distracted and allured by the beautiful movements, but that their strikes will be less likely to hit, making this addition to Enchantment similiar in nature to the Rokushiki technique, Kami-e. There are also much more potent, advanced techniques available to Enchantment users. These abilities appear to be the source behind the rumors of the fighting style involving magic. Skillful practitioners of Enchantment can make use of the belly dancing motions to lull enemies into a pseudo-hypnotic trance, which can then be strengthened and supported through the use of trained vocalizations, to fully enrapture a foe into a dream-like state, separated from reality. However, it has been noted that the Majin are incapable of true magic, and have never claimed to be capable of doing so, but that their illusions caused by their dance-like fighting style has given them the reputation of being magicians and wizards, among other things. Some have even been shown using this reputation to their advantage, claiming they know sorcery to an extent, in the hopes to use psychological warfare to ensure victory. This ability to create hallucinations through visual and audible stimuli has become infamous among the Majin's known enemies for its ability to lure unwary and foolish victims into a false sense of security, or even to allow themselves to become manipulated, leading to their defeat. Illusions can vary greatly, depending on the individual it affects, or even the subliminal messaging implied through certain vocalizations, such as referring to hot or arid adjectives to make the victim believe they're in a desert. Other hallucinations have involved blissful scenes, such as a garden of flowers blooming to distract foes, or altering the appearance of the Enchantment user for psychological warfare purposes. In some cases, the hallucinations are so grand or believable, that victims will feel physical pain or pleasure from what they see, depending on the person and the illusion in question. Though despite the effectiveness of the optical illusions, they are nothing more than that; simply hallucinations. Therefore, those who aren't affected by the illusion will only see those who are affected as crazy due to reacting to images that aren't truly there, among many other possible reactions to the outlandish responses of the victims. Due to the effectiveness of the Enchantment style, members of the Majin tribe rarely allow outsiders to learn or gain knowledge of it without explicit permission, or special circumstances. Additionally, it can be considered uncommon, albeit not entirely unheard of, for those beyond the warrior castes of the tribe to know Enchantment; as was seen in the special case of teaching Mut Mizu, of the diplomatic caste Mut clan, in how to use Enchantment to defend herself. It's also been shown that in certain cases, Enchantment has been learned through indirect methods, and even at times, directly from Majin members themselves, if they feel they can trust the knowledge of Enchantment to those who seek to learn it. Technique Lists Mut Mizu = Mizu is considered an exceptional case as an Enchantment user among her tribe, as she was born within the Mut clan, known to be diplomats and aristocrats amongst the tribe, and not warriors. Having been exiled from Sahara Island for her own safety, Mizu was accompanied by Enchantment practitioners, who eventually decided to teach her Enchantment to help her defend herself when in danger; despite Mizu being unwilling and hesitant to accept it at first. As a result of Mizu's lack of warrior experience, Mizu is considered a weaker user of Enchantment; albeit still clearly capable of holding her own when necessary. After parting with The Jolly Pirates and promising to meet them again and join their crew as an official member, Mizu went to work at honing her skills in Enchantment for the next two years. She is currently still seen now and again adamantly practicing her techniques when not at peace talks with the Saharans. It was revealed that after the time skip, Mizu has begun creating illusions with her Enchantment techniques; showing she has become more powerful than before. As to be expected of someone as self-absorbed and proud of her noble status as Mizu is, all of her combat related techniques seem to begin with the word "Noble," to signify her status as such. *'Noble Drill Kick' (高貴ドリルキック Kouki Doriru Kikku): She begins the technique by running or leaping forward with her powerful legs, and then flipping forward upon the palms of her hands before pushing herself off of them and continuing her momentum forward. Upon leaving the ground or floor, Mizu will strongly twist her hips to one side to make herself spin as she flies forward with her legs and feet extended towards her target; a move that is similar in appearance to Luffy's own Gomu Gomu no Storm attack. Like Gomu Gomu no Storm, Mizu will proceed to launch a continuous volley of rapid kicks as she spins in a straight line towards her opponent; resulting in a large number of powerful kicks being thrusted upon the foe's head and body repeatedly. This is reflected in the technique's name, as the motion of Mizu's body and kicks appear similarly to that of a rotary drill as it pierces forward while continuously spinning in place. |-| Set = Coming from the warrior caste, Set was raised and trained in the art of fighting, through martial arts and weapon wielding. As such, Set has a respectable amount of skill in the use of Enchantment. Particularly, Set seems to specialize in the use of hypnotic trances, which only serves as a testament to his expertise in the fighting style. However, Set is also obsessed with the fighting style; specifically the power it can give him over others. And as a result, he has trained extensively in the martial art in order to achieve the ability to cast illusions which the style became famed for. And unlike most of his fellow tribesmen, Set seems to genuinely believe he can cast magical spells on others through Enchantment, even though this is untrue. As Set's growing fascination with Enchantment's power clouded his thinking over time, he slowly became corrupted by the power he sought, to the point where he is now only interested in fighting others and causing mayhem. Realizing the unfortunate implications this could result in for the tribe, the Majin royal family was ultimately forced to exile Set from the tribe, for the safety of the Majin as a whole. It was this action that lead to Set breaking his ties with the Majin tribe. |-| D'Artagnan = As a child, D'Artagnan was forced into learning Enchantment as a means of self-defense, thanks to connections his family had with the warrior caste of the tribe. Albeit, D'Artagnan has pointed out that he had begun using Two Knife Style in order to forget his knowledge of Enchantment; showing that D'Artagnan appears hesitant in using his people's martial art. However, during the Stormy Arc of Grand Voyage, where D'Artagnan's knives were broken, D'Artagnan returned to using Enchantment, which he uses from then on. Due to his training, D'Artagnan comes off as a skilled fighter, showing clear proficiency in the fundamental aspects of Enchantment, albeit like Mizu, he had no skill in the illusionary techniques of the fighting style. During the time skip, where D'Artagnan returned to Sahara Island to strengthen himself for the New World, he had begun focusing on improving his Enchantment skills, amongst other things. This lead to him finally learning to harness the trances and illusions of Enchantment. D'Artagnan's Enchantment techniques appear to reflect the same theme as Sanji's Black Leg Style technique names. Each of D'Artagnan's techniques are named after a section of the body he attacks; albeit unlike Sanji, who names his techniques in French, D'Artagnan's techniques are spoken in Arabic. *'Dahama' (ダアマ Daama): The most basic of D'Artagnan's Enchantment techniques, D'Artagnan will propel himself towards his opponent with the use of his fingers before spinning his body and striking the foe with his feet. The effects of the attack are enough to cause serious injury if left unguarded. *'Ras' (ラス Rasu, Arabic for "Head"): Targeting the opponent's head, D'Artagnan will push himself towards it with the use of his hands, while delivering a decisive blow with his leg. *'Sadr' (サッドル Saddoru, Arabic for "Chest"): *'Qafa' (クアファ Kuafa, Arabic for "Nape of the Neck"): *'Rajl' (ラジル Rajiru, Arabic for "Leg"): *'Dira' (ディラ Dira, Arabic for "Arm"): *'Azr' (アズル Azuru, Arabic for "Back"): *'Khamsin' (クハムスィﾝ Kuhamusin, Arabic for "Storm"): |-| Aegaeon Kokkina = Like Set, Aegaeon, or as he's otherwise known as, "Aegis" or "Aeon," is a member of the Majin's warrior caste. Aegis was the master of both Hiro Xanthe and Riku Xanthe. Aegis has incredible leg strength, being able to launch himself 57 feet into the air on a weak jump. He is also able to kick in a elephants head with ease. He has shown to use this to his advantage with Enchantment, using his bare feet to smash the ground beneath him, causing massive waves of dust surrounding him, allowing him to further utilize the illusion properties of Enchantment. |-| Hiro Xanthe = Hiro shares some similar traits with Mizu and D'Artagnan; in that while he was born as a noble, he still managed to pick up knowledge and training in the art of Enchantment. And like D'Artagnan, this was thanks to the connections Hiro had to his uncle, Aegaeon, who is a member of the warrior caste. Taught by Aegaeon, Hiro became well adjusted to using Enchantment in battle. However, unlike his brother, Riku, Hiro has not been shown to have fully mastered Enchantment to its fullest potential. Rather, he's more commonly seen using the basics and fundamentals of the style, such as the graceful movements of its evasion techniques and the reliance on kicks for offense. Hiro does stand out on his own though, due to taking what he's learned from Enchantment and incorporating it into his own unique fighting style; a form of fighting referred to as Yasei no Michi (Random Way.) With Yasei no Michi, Hiro has fused Enchantment with other fighting styles, such as but not limited to, Ichi Kenpo, Chuusei Kentou and Rokushiki. So while he isn't fully skilled in Enchantment, he has made up for this deficiency by strengthening it with other fighting styles and techniques, as well as making use of his Devil Fruit and his Haki. |-| Riku Xanthe = Like his brother, Hiro, Riku picked up Enchantment from his warrior uncle, Aegaeon, despite being born as a noble. Unlike his brother though, Riku has shown a much better grasp on how to use Enchantment to its fullest effects, and has even managed to perform the illusionary aspects of the fighting style. Riku's superior performance in using Enchantment has gone as far as to earn him the alias of The Master of Hypnotism. And even despite this feat, Riku has proven to have pushed it even farther; beyond the normal limits of even the most skilled Majin warriors. Through an assortment of natural skills, such as his ventriloquism and mimicry, and even his knowledge of hallucinatory chemicals, Riku has made his illusions even more realistic, and all the more harmful to his opponents' mental and physical condition. Though the most potent amplifier to Enchantment comes from Riku's Devil Fruit, the Aurora Aurora Fruit. With it, Riku becomes a living aurora, and can thus cast optical illusions through that means alone. Combining these two abilities however, can make both his Devil Fruit and his Enchantment illusions all the more real and inescapable to his foes. So effective are these combinations of mental trickery, one can be hard pressed to even find the usage of Busoshoku Haki a reliable asset to combat Riku. The only possible way to counter Riku's mastery of illusions is to perhaps make skillful use of Kenbunshoku Haki. |-| Nephthys = Born into the warrior caste as a half Majin tribeswoman, Nephthys was raised since a young age to become a dependable fighter, soldier and combatant. And as such, she was taught Enchantment to properly defend herself and others. Due to her warrior background, Nephthys is highly skilled in the basic fundamentals of Enchantment. She has gone and further improved her Enchantment techniques by adopting other martial arts and learning to control her awakened Busoshoku Haki. However, despite her adept prowess of Enchantment, Nephthys has yet to show any usage of the illusion techniques; perhaps indicating she has yet to fully master the fighting style itself. |-| Demalion = As a Majin warrior, Demalion (real name being Sai Menhit) learned to use both Enchantment and Two Knife Style. In time, she has come to make expert use of both styles by amplifying Enchantment's illusionary techniques with her translucent crystalline blades. Skilled enough to conjure hallucinations with Enchantment alone, Demalion can also reflect light off of her two knives to further confuse and disorient foes. Using the illusions casted from Enchantment and her knives, Demalion is highly proficient in using misdirection to her advantage in battle; often luring an opponent's attention elsewhere while she strikes from a different angle. Likewise, she is incredibly agile, thanks to the graceful movements of Enchantment itself. These skills, and her upbringing in the warrior caste have made Demalion highly adept in the ways of combat and fighting. *'Hidden Void step:'A technique that allows Demalion to seemingly teleport. in reality, she is simply moving at extreme speed. She kicks off from the ground hundreds of times in an instant, but also begins and ends the movement with a flip and roll before landing on her feet again. This additional movement masks many of the tells that normally indicate superhuman speed, as well as any clue as to her direction of movement. Demalion instead appears to simply vanish into a spiralling vortex and reappear directly at her destination. While basic, this technique is baffling to those who don't know the secret, resembling nothing short of a supernatual ability, and even when it is known it is almost impossible to read, making Demalion's movements almost entirely unpredictable. *'Misdirection: Falling phantom:'Demalion takes on a blurred, ghostly appearance and sinks into the seemingly solid ground she is standing on, before abruptly dropping from above somewhere nearby in order to attack. The secret to this technique is deceptively simple; Demalion is simply kicking off the ground to launch herself upwards, but at the same time ducking downwards at a slightly slower rate, causing onlookers to perceive only her moving downwards while she in fact moves up. Despite this, the illusion is startlingly convincing, and even the most experienced foe is more likely to anticipate her rising out of the ground again than dropping in from overhead. *'raging winds dance:' Demalion performs a sequence of turning steps that result in her spinning in place. This momentum can then be used to power a sequence of rapid kicks. With no fixed pattern or end to the assault, Demalion can easily maintain an unpredictable offence, keeping foes on guard. She can also vary her steps to quickly move in any direction, dodging or moving around an opponent chaotically. **'Root:' Demalion quickly drops down and launches a low kick that hits anywhere up to the opponent's knee, sweeping or even breaking their legs in order to knock them down. **'trunk:' From a standing position Demalion launches a horizontal spinning kick at the middle of the opponent's body. If the opponent has already been knocked down by her previous kick, this attack can instead be aimed at their head, knocking them away again as they try to recover **'Crest:' A high kick swung up at the opponent's head. Being much higher than the Root and Trunk kicks, this blow can easily surprise an unwary foe, inflicting a devastating blow. It also aims the momentum of her Whirlwind motion slightly upwards, and is a good set up for launching herself. *'Rising wave': Demalion stamps one foot down and kicks herself into the air, flipping backwards while also spinning. Although not always part of the raging winds dance, this technique is a natural transition from the sequence, and can also be used to continue it. Ordinarily she will use this as a follow up to a crest kick, and continues by kicking at the opponent's head and upper body afterwards, making for a dramatic and startling offence. **'Lesser Drill kick:' after performing rising wave, while still in the air, Demalion flips backwards away from her opponent and then performs a strong twist of her hips to accelerate her spinning motion. She then launches a rapid barrage of high speed kicks while spinning. This technique is very similar to the Noble Drill Kick, but is weaker due to lacking the forward momentum from the opening leap. Despite this, Demalion's speed and strength can make it into a terrifying barrage. **'Breaking Wave:' After knocking an opponent over, Demalion performs a spiralling spinning flip to slam one of her legs down on them as a heavy finishing blow. This technique is technically independent of Rising Wave, but the two naturally lead into one another, and so this most commonly follows on from it. |-| Yahiro = Yahiro was one of the two bodyguards assigned to escort and protect Mut Mizu during her forced exile from Sahara Island while peace between their tribe and the Saharan kingdom grew ever more unstable. As such, he is of the warrior caste and is quite skilled in combat, including both the tribe's Two Knife Style and Enchantment fighting styles. He and his fellow bodyguard were the ones who would ultimately end up forced to share their knowledge of Enchantment and fighting in order to further ensure the safety of their tribe's prized diplomat, thus becoming the reasons for Mizu's knowledge and skill in Enchantment. Salma Koken = Salma Koken was the other bodyguard assigned to protect and serve Mizu, working alongside Yahiro in the process. Therefore, it is already justifiably assumed that Salma is a proficient warrior in her own right. Supporting this claim is her highly honed knowledge and usage of Enchantment, which she has studied and honed among the Koken clan of the warrior caste. And much like Yahiro, Salma had ended up divulging her secret knowledge of the fighting style's mechanics to Mizu for her own safety. |-| Baal Kokkina = Baal Kokkina is by far one of the most powerful members within the Majin's warrior caste, acting as the tribe's general in times of war, as well as helping to teach children born into the warrior caste in the art of combat and self-defense. His skills with Enchantment itself are considered superb among his fellow warriors, and thanks to his heritage as a member of the Kokkina clan, Baal's strength and power in battle are almost legendary. His kicks became so dangerous and lethal over time that he was soon referred to as "Baal of the Red Trail," due to leaving behind blood stained footprints after a fight. His skills in illusions and evasion are unknown for the time being, but may possibly be of a high caliber as well, given his heritage as a Kokkina and his years of experience. |-| Murlock = As the crowned prince of the Majin tribe and heir to the throne of the royal Solomon clan, Murlock would normally not know Enchantment, as it would be restricted to Majin warriors only. However, perhaps due to his rebelliousness as a teenager or because of his royal position and political power, Murlock has managed to learn how to use Enchantment in combat. Furthermore, as evidence of his hard work and talent in the usage of the Majin tribe's martial arts, Murlock has grown powerful enough to gain a reputation as the "Sorcerer of the Black Sands;" making him one of the exceptional few outside the tribe's warrior clans to achieve such a feat. An example of this being Murlock's expert control and usage of the illusions generated by Enchantment's bodily movements, as well as being able to combine his illusions and physical strikes with his Devil Fruit powers to become a truly formidable force on his own. Like other Majin who may want to capitalize on the fighting style's reputation, or those such as Set who genuinely believe in the martial art's magical connotations, Murlock has come to label his use of Enchantment as his "Black Art." Through applying his Devil Fruit's magical abilities and the illusions of Enchantment together, Murlock is capable of taking the hallucinations Enchantment produces to a far higher level than those of his contemporaries, as he can severely alter his illusions to a point where they become physical reality; a feat no other Majin has managed to achieve. Thanks to this alone, Murlock's use of Enchantment is incredibly potent and massively dangerous to those he uses it upon, which can only be made worse after taking into account his other abilities and skills, such as his Haki. Trivia *The name of the fighting style was derived from the word, 'enchantment;' meaning to put one under a chant, spell, charm, curse or form of magic. The name was chosen, due to the djinn/genie theming of the Majin tribe. *Many aspects of Enchantment were heavily inspired from belly dancing; a traditional Middle Eastern form of dance which has gained fame worldwide in recent years. The style of dance is rather relaxed and improvisational in comparison to other dancing styles, as it's only major focus is the movement of the torso and abdomen, and the accentuation of them through the swaying and movement of the arms and hands. **Likewise, the hallucination aspect of the martial art was inspired from tales of djinn (genies) using magic. Given the djinn theme of the Majin tribe, and the name of the fighting style, this portion of the style was added to further play up the theme. It could also be a reference to mirages, given the Majin live in the deserts of Sahara Island, where mirages are very likely to occur. *The idea behind using hypnosis and illusions in the advanced forms of the Enchantment style were inspired from Nefertari Vivi's belly dance-like fighting style while as an agent within Baroque Works, and Brook's ability to conjure illusions via hypnotic melodies and music. External Links Taekwondo - Wikipedia article about one of the styles used as inspiration for Enchantment Capoeira - Wikipedia article about one of the styles used as inspiration for Enchantment Kami-e - One Piece Wiki section regarding the Rokushiki technique that Enchantment appears similiar to Black Leg Style - One Piece Wiki article about the fighting style that Enchantment appears similiar to Belly Dancing - Wikipedia article about the basis and inspiration for Enchantment Site Navigation Category:Fighting Styles Category:Martial Art Category:Wyvern 0m3g4